COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Will Braxton Miller play? If he does, how effective will he be and can he avoid further injury? How will Ohio State handle its first road trip of the season? Can the Buckeyes slow down Cal's up-tempo offense?

There are plenty of questions surrounding Urban Meyer's squad this week. The most significant involve the team's quarterback. Meyer has said all week that Braxton Miller, who suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee last week, will be a game-time decision. He has played the situation close to the vest, though Miller's teammates seem to think that the junior will be ready for action once kickoff arrives.

Meyer said on his weekly radio show Thursday that if Miller isn't ready to play, then he won't play. If Miller can play, Meyer still will decide whether he'll start him or start Guiton and use Miller only if the Buckeyes absolutely need him. Meyer said he was happy to have that luxury.

Ohio State escaped last season's clash with Cal with a 35-28 win in Columbus. How will this week's meeting shake out? Our Cleveland.com coverage crew offers its predictions.

Make sure to leave your thoughts on Saturday's game in the comments below. The commenter with the most accurate prediction will get to make a prediction alongside our esteemed panel the following week. Reader John Muehlheim provided the closest guess last week, when Ohio State trounced San Diego State, 42-7.

Doug Lesmerises picks Ohio State 49, Cal 23

Cal couldn't stop Northwestern or Portland State and shouldn't be able to hold down the Buckeyes, no matter who the quarterback is. Freshman Dontre Wilson seems to ready to flash his speed even more, while the Buckeyes should be able to throw. Yes, the Bears will find a way with their up-tempo offense that averages nearly 100 plays per game, to move the ball at times. But the Buckeyes think their tackling is much-improved over last year, when the Bears lost by just a touchdown in Columbus. And last week against San Diego State, the defense worked together to take away a lot of the field.

If Ohio State can avoid being dead tired on defense, it should be able to force some third-and-long situations and then force some turnovers by freshman quarterback Jared Goff. In 2007, the Buckeyes got off to a slow first half at Washington before rolling to the win, but it shouldn't take the Buckeyes that long to get rolling this time.

Zack Meisel picks Ohio State 35, Cal 20

In theory, the styles of Cal and Ohio State would seem to mesh on the field. Both teams run up-tempo offenses, though Cal wants to run 100 plays and wear out a defense; the Buckeyes just want to put points on the board. Cal lost by a touchdown last year in Columbus, but this is a different program under new coach Sonny Dykes. Freshman quarterback Jared Goff leads the nation in passing -- and it isn't even close. But if the Buckeyes can get any sort of pass rush, Cal will be in trouble. Goff hasn't faced a defense with a secondary as talented as the one Ohio State will trot out onto the field.

How does all of that add up? I think the Buckeyes will rely on the run far more than they have the first two weeks in an attempt to keep the Cal offense off the field and provide the Ohio State defense as much rest as possible, especially if Miller doesn't play. The Buckeyes will be tested in ways they haven't been tested to this point in the season. I can see Cal jumping out to an early lead, perhaps even going into halftime, as the Buckeyes adjust to conditions away from Columbus. In the end, though, the team with more talent rises to the top.

Ari Wasserman picks Ohio State 31, Cal 24

Even before the status of quarterback Braxton Miller came into question, I always felt that the California game was a weird trap game. Sure, the Golden Bears don’t seem very good – they are toward the bottom of college football in every defensive statistic – but sometimes it is about more than that. Ohio State is traveling across the country, across multiple time zones, playing in a different environment and facing BCS-level talent for the first time this year. All of that has to add up to something, right?

Now throw in the fact that Miller may not play, even if he technically is healthy enough to go out there. Urban Meyer said he could decide to go with backup Kenny Guiton either way for precautionary reasons, which I found surprising given the dangers the Golden Bears could present if coach Sonny Dykes’ offense gets rolling. Guiton does a good job in Miller’s place – Ohio State is 5-0 in games where Guiton replaced the starter for any amount of time – but I won’t pretend there isn’t a vast different in Ohio State’s offense when its Heisman Trophy candidate is on the field.

So what does all this mean to me? Well, I think this game will be closer than a lot of people are giving it credit for. I think Ohio State will come out with the victory because they are superior to Cal talent-wise, but I just don’t see this game as a stroll in the park. The Golden Bears are coming into it with a chip on their shoulder after blowing the upset bid last year, and all the factors above could come into play.

Bill Livingston picks Ohio State 27, Cal 21

I have serious concerns about Braxton Miller's fitness and about the ability of the Buckeyes' defense to control the Bear Raid.

John Muehlheim (winning commenter) picks Ohio State 31, Cal 21

A late Buckeyes touchdown makes this game a lot closer than the score.

*Make your picks in the comments below and prove you're smarter than us, which really wouldn't prove much. We will take the best pick each week and use that reader as a guest analyst for the next week.*

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